India bans phone imports from China

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India's Department of Telecommunications has issued a blanket ban on imports of telecoms equipment from China, in a move that will hurt Huawei and ZTE, along with the rest of the Chinese telecoms industry.

Interestingly, the reason for the ban isn't competition issues, or nationalism, but national security - India is concerned that telecoms equipment from China could contain spyware and malware that'd allow Chinese spies access to Indian telecoms networks. The two countries have a strained relationship following many clashes over the past century, most notably in 1962 when the Sino-Indian war broke out.

ZTE and Huawei, the top telecoms manufacturers in China, will be disappointed by the move, as both had seen India is a strong source of future revenue opportunities. Indian operators had also formed plans to buy equipment from China, and will now be forced to look elsewhere - which will be music to the ears of western manufacturers.